No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

This moist and delicious Banana Loaf is a quick bake with loads of banana flavour. While it is baking in the oven your home will be filled with tempting banana aroma and before long you will be rewarded with a slice of your very own freshly baked banana bread.  This is also a great way to use up your overripe bananas. Banana Loaf  ~  香蕉蛋糕 Ingredients 150 gm plain flour 90 gm wholemeal flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/8 tsp salt 100 gm caster sugar 3 overripe bananas, about 300 gm (mashed) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 tsp vanilla 1/3 cup buttermilk (milk + 1 tsp vinegar) 2 eggs 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 to 2 bananas, cut raw sugar to sprinkle on top Method Sift plain flour, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl.  Mix and whisk in wholemeal flour and cinnamon, set aside. In another bowl, whisk sugar, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and add in the mashed bananas. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Do not overmix. Scoop batter into a lined 9 x 5 x 3 inch lo

This is a very refreshing stir-fried dish of Capsicum, Onion and some Pacific Clams.  Easy to prepare with a few ingredients and great to pair with white rice. Stir-Fry Pacific Clams with Capsicum ~    燈籠椒炒鲍贝 Ingredients 10 Pacific clams 1 medium size yellow capsicum (green or red, personal choice) 1 medium size red onion cut into wedges 4 pips of garlic, chopped 1 tsp Shaoxing wine 1 tsp oyster sauce 1/2 tsp cornflour + 1.1/2 tsp water to mix Salt to taste Method Heat up some oil in a wok, saute the chopped garlic till fragrant. Toss in the capsicum and onions, give it a quick stir.  Add in the pacific clams. Mix the oyster sauce into the cornflour mixture and add to the stir-fry.  Test for taste.  Turn off the fire. Drizzle in 1 teaspoon of Shaoxing wine and give a quick stir. Dish up to serve immediately.

This Citrus and Oil Bundt Cake tastes very much like a sponge cake and a little bit chewy too.  It is delicious, the oil makes it moist and the addition of Cointreau makes the cake all the more flavourful and fragrant. Citrus and Oil Bundt Cake Ingredients 240 gm superfine flour 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda a pinch of salt 4 large eggs 2 Tbsp fresh zest (orange and lemon) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup squeezed citrus juice (3 Tbsp juice + 1 Tbsp Cointreau) 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup milk 150 gm caster sugar Method Whisk or sift flour with the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.  Set aside. Combine the eggs, sugar, zest in a bowl and beat till light and  pale. Add in juice and vanilla, mix well. Fold in flour in 3 batches alternating with milk, till fully incorporated.  Batter is runny. Pour batter into a greased and flour dusted 10 cup bundt pan, tap lightly to expel any air. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for about 50 to 5

This is a copycat dish from Old Kingdom Chinese restaurant in Surrey Hills, Melbourne.  When we saw 'Fantastic Chicken' dish on the menu, all of us were curious and yes, we agreed to give it a shot.  When the dish was served, there's nothing 'fantastic' about it, it's just chicken fillet fried with black bean sauce.  Nonetheless, it was a delicious and tasty dish to pair with a plate of steaming hot white rice. Fantastic Chicken/Chicken in black bean sauce ~   豆豉鸡 Ingredients 270 gm chicken leg, deboned 2 onions, sliced or cut into wedges 1 medium size capsicum, sliced 1.1/2 tsp black bean  Salt and a bit of sugar to taste 1 tsp cornflour + 3 tsp water Method Slice up the chicken and season with some pepper, pinch of salt and a bit of sugar.  Set aside. Heat up a wok or pan with some oil, add in the black bean , saute till fragrant, add in the seasoned chicken and stir-fry till cooked.  Add in some water if  it's too dry. Toss